


Only the Worthy

by one_starry_knight



Category: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 04:08:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16736808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_starry_knight/pseuds/one_starry_knight
Summary: Meta Knight and Garlude are on a mission to retrieve the sacred sword, Galaxia. The sword is said to hold tremendous power and Meta Knight had been told of disaster befalling those who seek it out, but nothing could have prepared him for what he would really find.





	Only the Worthy

_The Sacred Sword,_ **_Galaxia._ **

   Everyone knew the name. A sword said to possess immense power, enough to turn the tide of the war against Nightmare. But it was a legend. _A myth._ Nothing more than than something out of a fairytale, something to keep people from worrying that Nightmare was undefeatable. Or so it seemed.

 

“I want you to be on guard, Garlude. The last scouting party had said there was some sort of monster inhabiting this cave. There were hardly any survivors and the ones left had said that whatever it was in this cave took the lives of anyone who came near the sword. No doubt the monster was put here by Nightmare to keep the sword out of our grasp.” Meta Knight warns his friend with a wave of his hand. Stepping between a crack in the cave wall, the blue knight enters a large, open room within the cave.

“You’re incredibly strong and an excellent warrior, which is why I wanted you on this mission with me. With you here, I’m certain whatever monster is waiting for us will be easy to handle.”

“The thought of facing off with whatever nearly wiped out the entire scouting party doesn’t sit well with me, but perhaps you’re right.” Garlude steps through the crack just after Meta, stopping briefly to survey the area and check behind her to ensure they hadn’t been followed. “We’re plenty strong. Besides, I haven’t seen any real signs of life in this cave. I know what we were told, but it almost seems like there isn’t really a monster in this cave.”

   Meta Knight stopped and looked around the cave suspiciously. She was right, it _didn’t_ seem lived in. Not the way it would be if there were a monster here, especially one powerful enough to wipe out multiple soldiers.

“We’re close. Do you see that light?” He motions towards a glow across the cave. The sword. With the blade planted in the cave floor, the hilt points towards the heavens and gleams with a holy light, the red jewel in the guard sparkling. It almost seems to be beconning the pair to it.

“We should approach with caution.” The blue knight glances toward Garlude, nodding as she gives a look of agreement.

   The pair stepped carefully and quietly towards the sword, their eyes flitting from one side of the cave to the other to ensure there weren’t any unwanted intruders ready to strike. Garlude took the lead, her own sword drawn.

   Reaching the sacred sword, the pair do one final survey of the cave, confirming that they were in fact alone.

“If it’s alright with you, I’ll carry Galaxia. It seems like too large a sword for you anyway, Meta.” Garlude laughs lightly, brushing her lavender bangs aside as she glances down at Meta Knight. He narrows his eyes at her, none too pleased at her little joke.

   Garlude stands in front of the golden blade, her hands held out nervously as she reaches for the sword. As she wraps her hands around Galaxia’s hilt, she jolts, her body stiffening and her breath hitching.

   It feels like an eternity to her. She can _see it_. She can _hear it_. She can feel its presence and it isn’t pleased. It doesn’t want _her._ _It wants her gone._

   In a bright flash, Garlude is thrown to the ground, the air completely knocked out of her.

“Garlude!” Meta Knight cries out as he runs to her side. He puts a hand on her shoulder, but withdraws quickly. She’s hot. _Too hot._

   She can’t breathe. It burns. Her body burns. She can feel a pain in her chest and a chill in her veins. She’s dying.

   Dying. That wasn’t acceptable. She had a job to do and new knowledge that she needed to pass to Meta Knight. She _had_ to.

“Meta--... That’s it.” She struggles to speak. She can’t breathe.

“What’s it? What’s going on? Come on, _stay with me!_ ”

“The monster... That’s it.”

“I--.. I don’t understand, the monster is here?”

“The… The sword, Meta.”

   Garlude points up at the sword, still just as they’d found it, unmoved by the cautious hands of the lady knight. She doesn’t have the strength left. Letting her hand fall, she relaxes. The light fades from her eyes and her strained breathing halts.

“Garlude! Hey, stay with me! _Hey!_ ” Meta Knight grabbed her hand and winced at the pain from the intense heat radiating off of her. She was so so unbearably hot, like she was burning.

   He inhales sharply, releasing her hand as his gaze trails over to the sword.

    _That sword._ What had Garlude meant about it? Did she mean to say the sword itself was the monster? Or that the monster was nearby? He couldn’t be sure. One thing he was sure of, however, was that Garlude had lost her life after touching it. Did he want to risk the same fate?

   He studies the sword, weighing his options. They came all this way for this sword. Was he really willing to let Garlude die for a sword that he wasn’t even going to attempt to retrieve? He shakes his head, screwing his eyes shut.

   There’s a strange feeling creeping into his heart. _A call._ The sword silently calls to him and he’s beginning to have trouble ignoring it. It’s calling him. He has to answer. If not for the sword, then for Garlude’s sake. In honor of her sacrifice.

   He steps slowly over to the sword, lifting his hand hesitantly. This is his last chance to back out. If he takes hold of the sword, that will be it. The moment of truth. He inhales deeply and grasps the hilt.

   There’s a presence. He can feel it. It feels like being watched, like someone is standing over him, looking down at him and monitoring his actions. There’s another being with him.

   He can feel **_her_ **.

_“What the hell are you?”_ Meta Knight can barely breathe as he clutches the hilt of the golden blade. There’s a sudden ringing in his head, a painful sound making him unable to think clearly. As quickly as the ringing began, it ends and a deafening silence replaces it.

**_“FEAR NOT.”_ **

   A voice, one so clear it seemed to echo through the silence in his head, spoke up. Then, like a crowd speaking all at once, many powerful, thunderous voices fill the blue knight’s mind.

 

_“Be calm, my dear.”_

_“Do not fret.”_

_“I am the Sacred Sword, Galaxia. I have chosen you as my vessel.”_

_“You are my body.”_

_“Wield me and I shall make you powerful!”_

_“Powerful.”_

_“You are strong. Very strong.”_

_“I will make you the strongest!”_

_“You already possess great strength, but with me you will be unstoppable.”_

_“Unstoppable.”_

**_“UNSTOPPABLE.”_ **

 

   Meta Knight screwed his eyes shut. He wanted to drop the sword, to throw it away and abandon the mission, but he couldn’t make his hands obey him. He couldn’t get rid of her.

“What do you want with me?” He asks shakily, his words quiet.

_“I want you to wield me. I will give you power, the power to achieve your goals. Wield me and you will never fall.”_

   The blue knight grips the sword tighter, taking in a sharp breath. “I don’t want power, I want to know why you killed Garlude.”

_“She was not WORTHY,” the voice responds in a sharp tone. “She was vile, filled with malice, hatred, evil. The evil may not wield me. Vile creatures cannot possess holy weapons, lest they be struck down where they stand. She should not have-- could not have wielded me. I am a pure being. She was a monster.”_

   Meta Knight grew stiff and his hands tensed around Galaxia’s hilt. Garlude was a monster? It was impossible! Unthinkable! She was kind, pure of heart, a noble warrior. Just how could she have been a monster as vile as Galaxia made it seem? There was no way!

   And yet… Just as Galaxia had explained, Garlude had been struck down when she’d tried to wield the sacred sword.

_“You are pure. You are worthy. You may wield me. You should wield me. Only you are worthy, only you possess the necessary strength. You are powerful. You need my assistance,”_ the sword continued, her tone becoming more forceful as she went on. _“I will help you.”_

“I… Yes, it seems I do need you. I need your guidance. If someone such as Garlude could be so vile, yet act as though she were one of us, then it would seem I need the guidance of someone holy, someone who can tell me who I can and cannot trust.”

_“You can trust me, my dear. Do you? Do you trust me?”_

   Meta Knight’s eyes dim. Something is pulling at his heart, telling him once again to throw the sword away. Taking a deep breath, he nods, some foreign force pushing this fear in his heart aside.

“I trust you.”

   The painful ringing returns, louder this time it seems. Wincing, Meta Knight holds the sword at arm’s length and screws his eyes shut.

_“Then bend to me, knight. Listen to my commands. You wish to conquer evil within the universe, to purge all that is unholy. I have seen this evil. Return to your camp and purge it. Purge the evil within the Star Warriors.”_

 

   The ringing stops. Meta Knight opens his eyes, his irises glowing bright red under his mask. His mind is clear. His goal set.

 

**_“Return and kill for me, my vessel.”_ **

  


“Sir Meta Knight has returned!” A voice cries out from the front of the camp, “He has the sword!”

   Jecra, hearing the news, drops the shield he’s been cleaning and runs out of his tent. He wants to be the first to congratulate Meta Knight on a successful mission. As he runs through the small camp, his heart begins to sink and his pace slows. Only Meta Knight had returned?

   The blond reaches the front of the camp, desperately surveying the area before him in search of both his friends. Just as he fears, in the distance Meta Knight approaches alone, sword in hand. Jecra watches his friend nervously, his breath hitching at the thought that Garlude has been lost. He fights back tears, biting his bottom lip anxiously.

   As he watches Meta Knight grow closer, his blood runs cold. _Something_ isn’t right, he can feel it. The air around him becomes heavy and he isn’t sure if he should continue waiting for his friend or retreat.

   Jecra stiffens, fear taking hold as Meta Knight approaches him.

 

_“We’ve returned.”_


End file.
